1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of recording a halftone image utilizing tone reproduction at each pixel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional technique of recording a halftone image, each recording pixel is recorded in a binary on/off state, and the density of an image is reproduced by a halftone dot percent (a ratio of the ON pixels). The number of tone levels reproducible by one halftone dot increases with the number of recording pixels included in the halftone dot.
In order to increase the number of tone levels reproducible by one halftone dot in the conventional technique, it is required to enhance the resolution of recording pixels, that is, to reduce the size of the recording pixels to increase the number of pixels within one halftone dot. In some recording apparatuses, however, it is difficult to enhance the resolution of recording pixels. A technique that increases the number of tone levels reproducible by one halftone dot without enhancing the resolution of recording dot has been desired.